If you enjoy playing online poker like me, or you are perhaps considering playing for the first time and want to know if there are any ways you can improve your statistical understanding of poker, you’ve come to the right place.
I’ve played countless hands of online poker on my favourite websites for over a decade, and during that time, I have learned how important statistics can be.
With that said, let’s now dive straight in to discover five effective tips for improving your basic statistical understanding of poker so you can become a master in no time.
Understanding the basics sooner rather than later can improve your gameplay. I’ve also included a little bit of information about responsible gambling and better bankroll management.
What Are The Most Important Stats You Need To Know In Poker?
If you are looking for ways to improve your gameplay, some of the basic statistics any good poker enthusiast should take time to learn when using the right kind of software that’s now widely available online are the following:
- VPIP – Voluntarily Put $ in Pot
- PFR – Preflop Raise
- AGG – Postflop Aggression Frequency
There are many other useful stats in poker that are worth getting a much better understanding of, but to begin with, these are the three most important stats to get to learn first.
Other stats to learn are the average odds and implied probability rates of hitting certain hands, pot odds and break-even points, and many others.
Five Tips For Improving Your Statistical Understanding Of Poker
Today, many different online tools are available to gather large amounts of data and make it easy to understand poker stats. In other words, you don’t have to get a pen and paper and write everything down manually.
Stats are automatically gathered and analysed using highly advanced computer-generated programs and are often easy to use.
Here are five tips for improving your statistical understanding of poker in no time:
- Start by understanding VPIP, PFR, and AGG
- Learn the different hands and the average odds and implied probability rates of hitting certain hands
- Try several different poker stats software tools because some are easier to use than others
- Start by using free software before spending money on more advanced tools
- Play more poker – you won’t learn if you don’t play poker. There are hundreds of safe sites to choose from
Where Can I Find The Safest Online Poker Sites To Brush Up On My Skills?
Whenever I am looking for a trustworthy site where I can play online poker from my smartphone or desktop computer, I always go to the official JohnSlots iGaming review site because it always has a frequently updated list of websites where I can play computer-generated and live dealer poker from some of the industry’s most notable providers.
Many of the poker titles on their featured sites also have thousands of feature-rich online fruit machines with high or above-average RTP% payout rates, and you can also find the reviews for these games conducted by Leanna Madden and other industry experts.
To play poker on any of their top-rated sites, you must be at least 18.
I’ve always found the sign-up process on their featured sites takes less than a minute, and whenever my new account has been activated, I usually qualify for a guaranteed new player welcome bonus.
Some of the most popular poker titles I can recommend checking out on their most highly recommended sites are from market-leading providers, such as Evolution, Playtech, GamesGlobal, RelaxGaming, NetEnt, Play’n GO, and Red Tiger.
Most of them are playable from as little as $/€/£0.10, $/€/£0.20 or $/€/£0.50 per hand, depending on the poker variant, and I’ve also found that a lot of different poker titles can be accessed in the free-play demo mode.
I enjoy playing online poker on these sites from within a mobile app using my iPhone, but you can also play instantly in your web browser from any other decent working smartphone, tablet, laptop or Windows or MacOS desktop computer.
Final Thoughts
After playing online poker on any of their top suggestions, your statistical knowledge will naturally improve, and you will start to feel more confident when playing either alone (video poker), against the dealer (live dealer or computer-generated casino poker) or against other players (sit ’n go, MTT and cash game table poker).
Before depositing on a website to play poker, the best advice I can give is to gamble responsibly, which means setting a reasonable spending budget. It also means never playing poker while tired or intoxicated and using whichever safer gambling tools you think will work best for you.
I tend to set a monthly deposit limit, which usually works best for me, but you may like to try some of the other tools, such as session time reminders or win/loss limits. Setting limits leads to a safer and more enjoyable experience each time you log in to your chosen account to play the world’s most popular card game.